August 2017

A6 A1-A48 B1-B24

Page A6 AUGUST 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
Triple H Company
ESTABLISHED 1950
1-800-252-3444 Fax 805-650-6444
FAM I LY
OWNED
American Made
 Tongue and groove
lid-to-base connection
for maximum strength.
 Green Velour Lining in
Gold and White PYRAMIDS
We are a cemetery, crematory and mausoleum product supplier.
®
®
Authentic
feature the exclusive green and gold Triple H Company logo
®
Cremation Urn Vaults. Proven in use. ®
 Two sizes – Original 9”x9”x14 ½”
Over 900 cubic inches
Accommodates most urns,
three per carton.
Oversized – 9”x13”x14 ½”
Double urn burials and larger urns,
over 1300 cubic inches, one per carton
 Oversized lid manufactured
with top connected to 4”
extension. Gives operator
one solid one piece sealed
connection.
 Excellent for
Committal Services.
 Solid Gray Granite Texture
Inside and Outside for
Consistent Appearance.
 Three colors – Gray Granite, Antique
Metallic Gold or Permanent Peace White.
 Lightweight, high-impact polystyrene.
 Lids interchangeable with common
vault base bottom.
 Sealer included with each vault.
®
®
NEWMORTUARY REMOVAL TOOL
WHEELS MAKE IT EASIER ON YOUR BACK!
SEE IT IN ACTION:
watch the video at
By Christopher Kuhnen
There’s More
To It...
Advance
Funeral
Planning
and read up on the subject. Allow yourself to be
mentored by professional sales agents who have ex-
hibited these superior selling skills. If all else fails,
please reach out and contact me! I have a wealth of
informative and educational “white papers” on the
subject that will be of great help to you. I will freely
share them with you – just e-mail me at ckuhnen@
.
perform at their best, if you don’t properly train, support
and motivate them?
Have we become over-reliant on CRM technology, so-
cial media and sales processes? Based on what I have heard
and seen, I believe we have. Rather than using all these
new tools to complement what we already had, we have
forgotten why people actually buy. And we most certain-
ly have forgotten to take into account how our families
want to buy.
The vast majority of sales content these days refers to
social-media activity, prospect attraction, lead manage-
ment, etc. Precious little offers advice on how to actually
develop pre-need sales selling skills. It’s almost as if it has
become passé to mention such things.
Being a qualified, preeminent pre-need sales agent is
more than just being an “order taker”. There is a pro-
found set of quality, ethical, interpersonal selling skills at-
tributes that come into play with each and every individ-
ual you meet. No two sales calls are ever exactly the same.
They are all unique and different.
So here’s a wake-up call for all front-line pre-need sales
managers and agents. It really doesn’t matter how efficient
your lead-tracking system is or how organized your CRM
system has compelled you to become or how much time
you spend cultivating your Twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook/
Blog or other on-line presence. If you do not possess the
basic 101 sales selling skills necessary to effectively perform
your job, you are going to fail sooner rather than later.
I encourage all pre-need sales agents (beginner or ad-
vanced) to attend a specialized sales skills training pro-
gram, workshop or seminar. Go to the public library
Christopher Kuhnen of Edgewood, Kentucky is a 29 year vet-
eran of funeral service. He is perhaps best known as an industry
go-getter and progressive leader. As an insider into excellence,
he is a trustworthy advisor to many funeral home and industry
professionals.
Kuhnen spent a good portion of his career working for a family
owned and operated funeral home and national pre-need sales
and marketing organization. He additionally was the architect and
founder of Funeral Profit Protectors, LLC. Currently he serves as
Vice President of Pre-Need Marketing for the Unity Financial Life
Insurance Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Chris is a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director, Life Insurance
Agent, Certified Pre-Planning Consultant (CPC), Insight Institute
Certified Funeral Celebrant and Certified Marketing Specialist, as
bestowed by the former American Marketing Academy.
Chris can be reached at (859) 307-7223 or .
Funeral Home & Cemetery News
Contributors share insights and
exchange ideas. B
Have Pre-Need Agents
Forgotten How to Sell?
Once again this year I made the rounds at numer-
ous state funeral directors association conventions. I
met and chatted with dozens of pre-need sales agents.
Some agents were working their craft on a part time
basis, but the majority were dedicated to 40+ hours per
week.
One thing I noticed this year (as in the past two years)
is that the standards of pre-need selling have spiraled
downward alarmingly. The quality of selling agents
warm-up, discovery, educational and closing skills be-
ing displayed is worse than I have ever witnessed, and
funeral home owners are investing less and less in their
front-line sales teams while expecting higher levels of
achievement. How can you expect your sales agents to
urday in April 2017. It was a beautiful spring day in
Utah. We got to see the sun but better yet, also to feel
the warmth of its rays on our backs. It was the end of
a beautiful funeral service for a wonderful young man.
He was loved by so many. I did not know him, but I lis-
tened to his funeral and I could hear about his accom-
plishments and his struggles. After the graveside service
concluded and everyone in attendance was mingling
around, I stepped away to spend a relaxing moment
looking at the clover patches. With the sunlight shin-
ing down, the colors of the clover seemed to be more
beautiful and more radiant that day than any other. I
saw this beautiful patch of clover just on the other side
of the road. It was calling to me to come and see its
beauty. I wondered with it being so close to the road,
if those clovers would be beautiful or not. They could
be driven over and crushed or stepped on and bro-
ken. When I got there I noticed some were, but then
I looked closer to the ground. The thought never oc-
curred to me that clover could be so young and small
but there they were; small and youthful looking living
under the protection of the older, larger and wiser clo-
vers. That is where I found it, a beautiful young four
leaf clover. Its color was perfect. I wondered to myself,
how it could have survived, but it had.
I picked that clover in its youth just like the Lord
our Savior had done with your child. He also picked
his brightest and his best. I prepared the four leaf clo-
Hope Faith Love Luck – Four Leaf Clovers
By George H. “Tracey” Franklin III, CFSP
George H. “Tracy” Franklin III
I will always remember April 2017, because life moves
fast and at times, the simple aspect of peace can come
from how you spend your time.
I like the line from the movie, The Last Samurai
when Katsumoto was talking about cherry blossoms,
“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend
your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted
life.” This is true for any endeavor, not for just cherry
blossoms. For me, it brings me much joy and relax-
ation looking at the beauty of clovers. When you see
a clover field, many see a patch of weeds. Upon closer
inspection, the clovers themselves are in many differ-
ent stages of life. Some are diseased and dying, some
are bruised, broken and torn, some are big, bright and
beautiful in color and lastly, some are small and young
with the fullness of life
ahead.
This brings me to a Sat-
Send Us Your News!
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your firm today!
PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 • Fax 1-800-321-9040 • Email